Lauren Boone JMS’20 was constantly busy during her undergraduate years at Rutgers. As a Journalism and Media Studies major and a diver on the Rutgers women’s swimming and diving team, Boone spent much of her time focused on practice, competitions, study hall, team meetings, clubs, and jobs.

Trying her best to experience Rutgers outside athletics, Boone tutored other student-athletes in the JMS class Intro to Media, a journalism prerequisite, after she realized she had a knack for the content of the course.

She also joined Rvision, the video production department for Rutgers Athletics, and worked with the StudentU Big Ten Production team. Crediting her RVision experience, she eventually secured a role to work on the Olympics with NBC. Boone said that is where her interest in sports broadcasting and media began.

In our Q&A, Boone describes her career as a booking producer at NBC, explains how she applies her SC&I education to her work every day and more.

SC&I: Did SC&I and Rutgers help you prepare for your career?
LB: I can confidently say that SC&I helped me tremendously in my career. The class Media, Ethics, and Journalism always sticks with me. I consider that class each and every day, when I pitch stories, when I speak to guests or politicians, and when I am considering whom to book on a story. I also use AP Style and all the grammar and formatting I learned at Rutgers. Grammar classes always seemed to be the most tedious to me, but the skills are extremely valuable.

SC&I: Did any faculty members give you advice that has stuck with you?
LB: The famous Steve Miller helped me in more ways than he will ever know. From his guidance and advice to his connections and recommendations, he 1000% helped me get to where I am today. He helped me through the door at NBC, and since then my career has taken off. Now, I consider Steve a friend and will always be grateful for his mentorship. He was constantly telling me to slow down and take a step back to truly consider what I wanted to do with my career. He would ask me questions I never considered that opened my eyes to different paths I could take. Ultimately, I’m extremely happy with the path I took, and I credit Steve for being my “career compass” in a sense.

I can confidently say that SC&I helped me tremendously in my career. The class Media, Ethics, and Journalism always sticks with me. I consider that class each and every day, when I pitch stories, when I speak to guests or politicians, and when I am considering whom to book on a story.

SC&I: Was there a particular moment or experience in your career that significantly contributed to your professional growth?
LB: I knew from my internship with NBC that I enjoyed booking and was interested, but didn’t know if that’s what I wanted to commit my next few years to. When I was in my first full-time role with NBC as a Production Assistant, I was tasked with filling in for one of the booking producers on the show I was working on. There was breaking news that night and I had the option to either call the booking producer who had already logged off, or work my behind off to meet the needs of my show. I chose the latter. It was adrenaline-fueled and needed quick thinking and intentional communication with my team and the guests I was after, and I loved it. That’s what made me feel confident in pursuing booking. It’s rewarding and takes creativity and organization. Another moment I want to share, that wasn’t positive in nature, actually happened that same night once I ended my shift. Most breaking news is negative, whether it’s a natural disaster, a death, riots, etc. and in the comedown after the show, I realized just how tragic the news was that I was covering, and it took some serious reflection from me that night and the next few days. Regardless, I stuck with booking because I wanted to find people to help them share their stories of the news and events they’ve experienced.

SC&I: What is your secret to success in the industry?
LB: I would say confidence. I’m confident in my abilities to book a show or tell a story. With that, the moment I need help, I'm also not afraid to ask. I’m confident enough to not be scared to ask questions. I’m confident enough to make decisions quickly when needed. And I'm confident enough to admit when I'm wrong, and then to get up and try again.

SC&I: What advice would you give to a current SC&I student who isn’t exactly sure what path they’ll take within their major?
LB: For now, just do what you enjoy. Once you know what you enjoy, you can search for and find a path that provides you joy. Take every opportunity given to you. Don’t be afraid to try new things, because you never know what’s out there. If you would’ve told me when I was a junior at Rutgers, “One day you’ll be a booking producer!” My answer would’ve been, “What’s that?” And now look where I am.